Wednesday, January 16, 2013

ECONOMY

The economy in the Garden of Eden was robust. Adam and
Eve had perfect health and wealth, that is, until they rebelled against the
establishment. The opening chapter of the Bible starts from an outer-space
perspective and then focuses on the planet earth. Details of how and with what
the Creator populated it are given in general terms. The second chapter zooms-in
on the planet earth, then on Eden, and then onto the Garden in Eden. Certain
specifics are given about where to find gold, ‘Havilah, where there is gold.
And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there’
Genesis 2:11b-12.The clear intention is
that Adam and Eve and their offspring are to utilise these and other resources
for the creation of wealth to the glory of God. However, Adam and Eve became
involved in the revolution that attempted to overthrow the established order
with the result that any wealth would be gained only by ‘the sweat of your
face’ Genesis 3:19. One gets the impression that before the Fall there was easy
access to raw materials and precious commodities (e.g., Ezekiel 28:13), perhaps
as in the words from the old Bob Dylan song, ‘I saw a highway of diamonds with
nobody on it…’ However, since the Fall, and particularly since the global
Flood, we have had to dig and drill to build our economies. Even in the
‘Promised Land’ the nation’s wealth would only come through effort,‘For the LORD is bringing you to a good land
… a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper’
Deuteronomy 8:9b.

Western economies tend to be based on gold held in
reserve. However, the general trend is toward wealth through borrowing and by
fiat – if your nation needs money simply print more! Most Middle Eastern
economies tend to be built on oil (which Western economies cannot do without.) There
was perhaps some oil around before the Deluge produced coal and oil in great abundance
and buried underground the precious stones. E.g., Noah was to cover the ark
‘inside and out with pitch’ Genesis 6:14. It is possible that this ‘pitch’ was
manufactured from tree resin. However, we do know that there were tar pits not
long after the flood into which some of the enemies of the wealthy Abraham
fell, ‘Now the valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there…’ Genesis 14:10a. Many Western nations
are rich in oil resources. However, rather than make it easier for companies to
drill for more oil, they choose instead to buy from the Middle Eastern nations at
inflated prices. This causes a great drain and strain on Western economies –especially
during cold months. However, Norway is a good exception. Its economy, based on its
own oil, is flourishing!

The Bible has had a major influence on Western
economies through men such as John Calvin (1509-64), whose Biblical teachings
on economics greatly influenced Adam Smith. Adam Smith (1723-90) is often regarded
as the founder of modern economics. He established ‘theories of labour,
distribution, wages, prices, and money, and advocat[ed] free trade and minimal
state interference in economic matters’ (Oxford English Reference Dictionary).
In the 1930s John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) helped move Western nations away
from the Calvinistic approach of keeping a balanced budget to the more Socialistic
idea of borrowing capital simply to sustain employment.

The wealth of the nations’ belongs to Christ! His City
is adorned with all kinds of precious stones: jasper,
sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase,
jacinth, and amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual
gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like
transparent glass ... And the nations of those who
are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth
bring their glory and honour into it … And they shall bring the
glory and the honour of the nations into it’ Revelation 21:18-21; 26-27.
Entrance is gained by repenting and believing in the Gospel!